SATURDAY

Making System Restore work

Q:What is the purpose of System Restore? I have tried to use it numerous times when something went wrong. I picked a date for System Restore, but it said it could not restore to that date. No matter what date I picked, it said the same thing. How does this work? I am using Windows XP.

A:System Restore is kind of like "isosceles triangle." It sounds vaguely like something you should understand. But, really, who has the time?

Sorry to say, I know little about isosceles triangles. (Actually, they're triangles that have two sides of equal length. I know that only because I double-checked the spelling in the dictionary.) However, I'm up to speed on System Restore. It's actually pretty cool.

System Restore is intended to correct major boo-boos. It restores Windows' system files to an earlier date when Windows was working properly.

Let me give you an example. Let's say you download and install a program from the Web. You reboot. When Windows comes up, it doesn't look right. It doesn't work right, either. This qualifies as a major boo-boo.

Pick a date; almost any date!

So, you go into System Restore. You pick a date there—say, yesterday. You tell Windows to roll back. The system files that have been altered return to their earlier state. Voilà, your computer is steady again.

The date you have picked is called a Restore Point. Windows automatically makes one every 24 hours. It also makes one when you install a program. You could have used that one in my hypothetical example.

System Restore only works on Windows system files. It does not affect your personal files, or program files.

I have used System Restore only once. It worked.

Where do you find it?

System Restore looks different, depending on your version of Windows. But it is accessed the same way in Windows XP and Windows Vista. Click Start>>All Programs>>Accessories>>System Tools>>System Restore.

In Windows XP, select "Restore my computer to an earlier time." Click Next. You'll see a calendar. Bold dates have a restore point. Click one. Click Next>>Next. Windows will roll back.

In Windows Vista, you can select the recommended restore point, or pick your own. If you choose the latter, you'll get a table of restore points. By default, they go back five days. You can choose to go back about two weeks, if you prefer. Click Next>>Finish to roll Windows back.

Tip of the Day

Gmail in Windows Mail

In Windows Vista, the e-mail program of Outlook Express was phased out and it was replaced with a new program called Windows Mail.

So, for all you loyal fans who used Gmail in Outlook Express, here’s how you can start using Gmail in Windows Mail instead! Gmail hasn’t even updated their support files yet, so get the instructions here while they’re still hot!

1.) Open Windows Mail and click Tools at the top of the page.

2.) Click Accounts.

3.) Click Add and then select E-mail Account. Then click Next.

4.) Enter in the name you want to be sent along with all the e-mails you send out.

5.) Type in your Gmail e-mail address (for example, youraddress@gmail.com).

6.) In the Incoming Mail Server box, enter "pop.gmail.com."

7.) In the Outgoing E-mail Server box, enter "smtp.gmail.com."

8.) In the Account Name field, enter in your complete Gmail e-mail address.

9.) Enter your Gmail password in the Password field.

10.) Click Next and then Finish.You’ll then be taken back to the Accounts screen.

11.) Highlight the new e-mail account and click Properties.

12.) Click the Advanced tab.

13.) Check the two boxes marked "This server requires a secure connection (SSL)."

14.) Set the Outgoing Mail field to 465.

15.) Next, click on the Servers tab and select "My server requires authentication."

16.) Click Apply and then OK.

More connections! Hahaha!

According to industry standards, your web browser is only allowed to download two files at a time from any server.  By default, both Firefox and Internet Explorer follow this guideline.

If you visit a web page with lots of images (and supporting files like CSS styles and Javascript), then you can have a slower browsing experience.  On average, your browser has to make more than 40 requests to the server before it can assemble the complete page.  Requesting all the files you need two-at-a-time is going to be slower than requesting 10 files at a time, for example.

You can speed up Internet Explorer by tweaking hidden registry values, thereby enabling your browser to get more files in fewer chunks.

Run your favorite registry editor, regedit..

Step 1. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SoftwareMicrosoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings.

Step 2. Create a new DWORD key (in 64-bit Vista create a "DWORD (32-bit) value"), called MaxConnectionsPerServer

Step 3. Modify this key and set the base Decimal value greater than 2 (I use 10 to 15).

Step 4. Create a new DWORD key called MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server.

Step 5. Modify this key and set the base Decimal value the same as MaxConnectionsPerServer.

Step 6. Exit Registry Editor and reboot your computer.

If you ever want to undo this tweak, simply delete the two keys you made and reboot.  Enjoy your new fat-pipe to the InterWebs.

EARLE'S COMPUTER CENTER
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